Has anyone installed an aftermarket dual exhaust system on a 350Z with a body kit? If so, did you have any problems with the exhaust installation clearing the rear bumper? The reason I ask is because I'm running a Wings West Z-Spec full body kit and I'm about to shell out some serious bucks for an HKS True Dual Hi-Power Exhaust W/Titanium Tips Exhaust System. A good friend of mine ordered and installed an HKS exhaust system on his Scion TC two weeks ago only to find he can't use it with the body kit he's running. My stock exhaust clears the rear valance of my body kit (with a little space to spare). But I'm a bit leary and I guess I'm looking for some sense of assurance from other Z owners that are running high performance aftermarket exhausts with a body kit. Should I be concerned or not. What do you think? A picture says a 1,000 words, hint, hint

 

I pulled out my HKS exhaust tips out a lil more to give a nicer look and a better clearance... check out my sig, I have pics there, I think on 2nd or 3rd page.

 

Thanks Jaki - Very nice ride ya got there! So I take it you didn't have any problems with the exhaust pipes clearing the body kits' rear bumper. Pulling the tips out to expose the blue against your PPW looks good. Do you have any pics of the exhaust straight from the rear? Most of the shots on your link appear to have been taken from an upper angle or from the side. I'm curious how much lower the HKS system sits in comparison to the height of the stock exhaust. I have a couple of speed bumps to clear on the street to my house. My car is not lowered and I'm runnnig 19" Zenetti rims, which adds a little more height for clearance. But still I'd hate to accidentally scrape a new $1,500 exhaust system.

 

I don't have any problems with clearing the bumper. Its really close to the bumper, but its not rubbing against it. I just pulled out the tips a little to make it look better. I had posted some pics a while back of the exhaust straight from the back, but the place where I uploaded them doesn't work anymore... I'll have to wait till I get home to see if I have any of them on my comp. The exhaust doesn't sit much lower than the stock exhaust, and I have no problems with scraping the exhaust when going over speedbumps.

btw, you haven't bought the exhaust yet, have you?

 

Actually here's a link to where someone posted some pics of the HKS exhaust straight from the back: https://my350z.com/forum/intake-exhaust/170441-hks-hi-power-exhaust.html

 

No I haven't placed the order just yet. I kinda fell into the credit card trap and I'm slowly digging my way out. My New Year's resolution is "if I can't cash it, I can't have it" and I'm trying to stick to that committment. I should have enough cash saved to buy the HKS exhaust system buy the end of March or mid April. Thanks for the feedback on the height and bumper clearance. I'm feeling a bit more confident now thanks. I haven't checked the new link you suggest but I'll go check out the pics now.

 

You should be exited

Like Jaki said, shouldnt be a problem! The HKS tips are slightly larger diameter then the stock tips but dosent get as hot as the stock pipes so no worries with heat and clerance should be a problem at all by looking at the pics of your rear bumper.

/Roger

 

Thanks Roger, the input received from you and Jaki has boosted my confidence. The HKS sytem is as good as bought I notice you listed the K&N CAI as a current mod to your Z. I was also looking at going that route but opted to go with the JWT short ram intake because it rains a lot here and I'm soooo afraid of water inadvertently being sucked in through the breather extension. The articles I've read on the K&N Typhoon CAI seem to indicate that hydro-locking from water ingestion is next to impossible. My Nissan Service Rep told me a horror story about a 350Z engine they are replacing because of hydro-lock from a Nismo CAI. I'm hoping I'll be safe with the short ram system. Thanks again for the input on the HKS Exhaust System. I'll post some pics after I do the install. Hopefully everything will work out well.

 

I checked the link and yes those are some tight shots but that Z does not appear to be running a body kit. But again, the shots are very nice and just the angle I was looking for. I've downloaded a few sound clips of the HKS exhaust and listen to them two to three times a week. I absolutely love the sound

 

i have the injen angled exhaust w/ my Wings West kit...you need to extend the mufflers out of you will burn the bumper like i did at first

 

Like i said earlier, even if they would make contact with the rear spoiler i dont think it would cause any issues as the tips are not welded or connected directly to the exhaust itself, they are only connected to the main exhaust by 2 bolts with air inbetween, so they would almost act as a heatshield.

Im not 110% sure it wont be an issue, so far i have only looked at it in the box but thats the conclusion i make by looking at the bits and peices and pics ive seen of it installed.

Cant wait to get my car ready and take it out in the spring sun

/Roger

 

Well with the Typhoon you can choose if you want to install the "scoop" to the grille or not, currently i dont have this installed due to risk of water and that i will do a more "propper" installation when i remove the bumper to install my Nismo V2 bumper (which has a built in air ram tunnel).

Without the scoop its just like a short ram system but with a metal air shield box with a carbonfibre lid (that looks really nice), it draws air from the stock air hole.

Though you cant go wrong with a normal open filter setup (like the JWT), no intake will give you significant gains anyway, though it will give you an amazing sound at WOT and high rpm (where the stock setup is quite weak IMO).

/Roger